Warning: This article contains limited spoilers for Spider-Man 2!
Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 video game is fast approaching its October 20 release date, and IGN got to play a hands-on demo to get a taste of what’s to come (check out our in-depth Spider-Man 2 gameplay preview). Being the big superhero fans that we are, we couldn’t help but geek out about the story they’re telling with the symbiote, which we all know starts with black-suit Spider-Man and ends with Venom. The small chunk of story we played through was overflowing with all manner of references to iconic black-suit Spidey and Venom comics as well as movies and television shows, so here’s a rundown of all the Venomized stuff we saw, and a look at how Insomniac is crafting a new story from these old classics.
Before we begin, a note on spoilers. Our demo was essentially the same part of Spider-Man 2 shown in the first gameplay preview where Peter and Miles chase the Lizard while battling Kraven’s goons. The demo began a bit before that action scene and ended not long after. The demo didn’t contain any huge plot twists, but still, we will be describing everything we saw, so if you want to go into the game with a clean slate, then best to skip this article.
If you haven’t already, check out the first Spider-Man 2 gameplay preview below, which sets the tone for everything we played in the demo:
Take Me to Church
Our demo started off with a cinematic where Peter Parker, already in the black symbiote suit, is confronted by Kraven the Hunter inside a cathedral. This church setting is a signature element of the Venom saga, as it’s where Peter loses the symbiote and the black goo chooses an at-rock-bottom Eddie Brock as its new host. However, this time around there is no Eddie Brock (more on that in a moment), but the scene does include the crucial revelation that the symbiote is weak to loud sounds, as seen when the large church bell is accidentally struck during the confrontation and the symbiote convulses in pain. Peter is able to steal an important vial of liquid from Kraven and escape, but it comes at the cost of exposing a major weakness to his dangerous new enemy.
After Peter escapes, Kraven monologues to himself a bit, ending on the proclamation that tracking down Spider-Man will be his “final hunt.” Any Marvel comic reader will recognize this as a not-so-subtle reference to the classic storyline Kraven’s Last Hunt, which clearly inspired the story of Spider-Man 2. In that comic, Kraven pledges to hunt down and kill Spider-Man, and seemingly succeeds, before Spidey digs himself out of his grave and returns to defeat Kraven. Notably, Spider-Man wears a black suit in that story, but it’s just a cloth version, not the symbiote. In the game, Spidey is bonded with the powerful symbiote, so Kraven faces an even bigger challenge than in the original story.
Harry Osborn and the Oscorp Particle Accelerator
The next part of the story sees Peter meet up with Harry Osborn, who was missing in the first game, only for the ending stinger to show him suspended in black goo inside Norman Osborn’s secret Oscorp lab. We didn’t get to play the beginning of the story, so it was a bit of a shock to see Harry is back on his feet–and he already knows Peter is Spider-Man! The two are working together, seemingly to find a cure for whatever terminal disease Harry is suffering from. They use the particle accelerator to activate the liquid in the vial Peter stole from Kraven.
As you would expect, just as it looks like things are going well, everything suddenly goes horribly wrong and Kraven’s goons attack the lab. At the climax of the battle, the goons close in on Harry and are about to attack him, but a restrained Peter, desperate to save his friend, unleashes his rage and unlocks a monstrous new ability for the symbiote where a dozen tentacles pop out and attack enemies in all directions. As those familiar with how this story goes already know, the symbiote corrupts Peter by making him incredibly angry, ruthless, and violent–and this is the first instance of that inevitable turn to the Dark Side. Harry is grateful for being saved but is clearly unnerved by what he just witnessed his best friend do.
Does Harry Osborn Become Venom?
Yes, Peter has the symbiote now, but the going theory is that Harry Osborn eventually becomes Venom. Insomniac has already said Venom’s host is not Eddie Brock like in the comics, and Harry is the most obvious next candidate. It seems as though the symbiote is an experimental cure for Harry’s disease, but it somehow becomes sentient and winds up bonded to Peter. The symbiote starting out as an experimental medical treatment is pulled from the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book version of the Venom story.
There’s also the fact that the story trailer for Spider-Man 2 (which you can view below) starts with Harry saying “We’re going to heal the world,” and then it ends with Venom saying the same thing. Could it be anymore obvious?
The idea of Harry being Venom instead of Eddie Brock isn’t a wholly new one. In the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, Harry became Venom, as well. So it looks like Insomniac took inspiration from that show to tell their Venom story.
The Origin of the Venom Symbiote
At one point in the demo, we investigated a lab as Peter and came across a computer showing an analysis of a strange mineral that Oscorp had run through the particle accelerator. A button press prompts a machine to present the mineral, a jagged, black rock with glowing red cracks. The story trailer showed a meteor strike, so if we’re putting one and two together, it seems as though the Venom symbiote came from the meteor after it was put through the particle accelerator.
The origin of the symbiote has changed several times over the years. It originally came from a lab on a distant planet during the Secret Wars crossover event, but pretty much all versions since then simplify things by saying it came from space, either from astronauts discovering it on a mission to space or from a meteor crashing to Earth. It looks like Spider-Man 2 isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with where the symbiote came from.
Spider-Man 3 Black-Suit Costume
The infamous Spider-Man 3 movie by director Sam Rami featured the symbiote story on the big screen for the first time, and we saw Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker don a black version of his Spidey suit. That suit is an unlockable skin in the game. Many fans wanted to wear it in the first game, but it’s clear that Insomniac was saving all Venom-related goodies for the sequel, and now players finally can suit up in those signature black duds. Awkward street dancing not included.
Who’s the Real Monster?
After the Lizard escapes, Peter goes down into the sewers to find him. Doctor Curt Connors is apparently the only one who can help cure Harry’s condition, so it’s vitally important that he’s found and transformed back into a human. To complicate matters, the Lizard is shedding his skin, which causes him to grow in size and become even more beast-like, just like in the Spider-Man “Shed” comic. When Peter eventually catches up to him, we see he’s become a massive creature with dozens of spikes going down his back. It’s time for a boss fight!
There’s an excellent bit of storytelling that goes on during this boss fight. Even though the Lizard is a giant, gnarly monster who could eat a normal man in one gulp, it’s hard not to feel bad for him as Peter absolutely wails on him with thunderous symbiote punches. Lizard didn’t want to become the Lizard, and he just wants to turn back and go home to his wife and kid. But as the fight goes on, Peter doesn’t seem to care about that as much as he does unleashing his newfound power in the form of brutal symbiote attacks. It’s a not-so-subtle admission that Connors may be the giant lizard, but Peter has become the true monster, complete with his very own gravely Christian Bale-Batman voice.
That’s where our demo ended, but even after playing just a couple hours, it was cool to see how Spider-Man 2 is pulling from so many different Venom stories in the Spider-Man franchise’s past, but remixing them into something fresh and new. There are plenty more signature Venom elements that could still make their way into the story, from the symbiote’s weakness to fire and Venom eating people, to familiar characters such as Carnage and Knull. But we’ll have to wait until Spider-Man 2 comes out to see what happens.